Caithlin Tracey

I currently have availability for new clients at various times between between 11.30 and 20.30 Monday to Friday.

I offer in-person therapy for women (LGTBQ inclusive) and online  counselling for all genders. 

I work with people experiencing anxiety, panic, stress, shock, overwhelm, life changes, low self-esteem, insomnia, depression, agoraphobia, grief and bereavement. I work regularly with people with Alzheimers/ Dementia and their carers, people with long-term health conditions, hidden disabilities and chronic pain. 

I offer counselling, CBT and mindfulness - which can be delivered both individually and in combined form. These are all collaborative, empowering approaches which aim to help you develop self-awareness, self-esteem, self-acceptance and self-determination. They can also be powerful tools for noticing, exploring, and managing difficult feelings, sensations, thoughts and behaviours - even when experiences such as anxiety, panic, depression, or low self-esteem seem to appear from nowhere.

Mindfulness exercises can be used from the first session to help you feel calm, confident and safe. Particularly useful for clients who are worried about being able to cope with what might 'come up' as they start their counselling journey.

As a gentler alternative to counselling, I also offer the 8-week Mindfulness Now course, which is a blend of Mindfulness-Based Stress reduction and Mindfulness-based CBT, and is approved by the British Psychological Society. The beauty of this approach is that it can be taught one-to-one,  and is therefore more flexible, adaptable and sensitive to individual needs, and allows space for  more in-depth discussion than a group mindfulness class. Sessions lasts 1.5 hours, with each week a new guided meditation exercise - recorded on the day and provided for home use.

 I also offer 1.5/2 hr crisis sessions for women; Starting with an in depth consultation, followed by a combined treatment to help soothe, calm and ground. Guided mindfulness relaxation exercises are recorded for use at home both for daily relaxation practice and for help to relax sleep at night,

My therapeutic space is itself trauma-informed - a soft, human and mindful alternative to the harsh sterile environments, institutions and structures we often find ourselves in - particularly at times of personal difficulty.

 I am comfortable working alongside conventional mental health diagnoses - and equally comfortable working purely with you and your individual experience.

It is important that you feel comfortable and empowered whilst on your therapeutic journey and I always work collaboratively with clients, being sensitive, responsive and flexible to changing needs and directions of focus. This means that we may agree to begin working with a specific focus, in a particular way, for example, counselling, but as your journey develops, and as your awareness broadens and deepens, and your confidence grows, your focus may shift, broaden or narrow, you may wish to bring in other approaches, such as mindfulness, or conversely, to focus more specifically on another approach, such as CBT. 

My counselling approach is underpinned by the understanding that rather than fundamentally changing who we are, the therapeutic process is a means of gently uncovering aspects of ourselves that may have been hidden, repressed, ignored or avoided- sometimes for a very long time.

As I have also been a practising holistic therapist for many years, my work with clients often involves an element of emotion and body-focussing, helping the client to understand the links between mind and body and how those interactions may be contributing to their concerns - and how focussing on this may offer respite, ease and management.

 I honor your own personal perspective and experiences - acknowledging that you are ultimately the expert on your life - with the aim of boosting self-confidence, aiding self- discovery and achieving your potential. I provide an authentic, empathetic, trauma-sensitive space that recognises your humanity and individuality- valuing you without judgement. 

I ask all clients fill in a consultation form, either prior to or during their first session with me. This form includes information regarding your general health, home and work life situation. This is because it is important to understand all of the factors that may be effecting you - socially, economically, physically, emotionally and mentally. My approach is to acknowledge the connectedness of all the areas that make up our humanity, and how each aspect can effect the other aspects.  During your first session, if it seems beneficial, we can take the opportunity to explore this further. You will also have the space to explain your experiences and issues that have brought you to seek counselling- and explore your hopes and fears regarding what this process may bring.

Together we can explore your situation and possible goals, and potential ways of working together that feel right for you. 

At the end of our session I'll ask how you feel it has gone and whether you might like to engage in another session - or series of sessions. You won't need to decide on the spot - you'll be able to contact me afterwards - you can even book online if that's easier for you.

Should you decide that you'd like to have further sessions  together, ultimately our approach will be flexible and open to change - according to your needs and how things develop. We may decide on a certain number of sessions to start off with and agree to review this as things progress - but you will always have the option to reduce or increase the number of sessions.  If you prefer take it one session at a time, we will explore ways to keep the session boundaried within the limits of what is safe for you to address without further follow- up sessions.